Author's Note: There will be a few things from the manga I will not write about just so I can move the story along faster and not bore everyone. I want to focus on what is happening with Yae right now. If you have read the manga, then you already know what Senku is doing at this time...which is talking to Taiju for the first time in a year.
Let's continue...

Yae, Chrome, Asagiri Gen, and Magma had run until nearly out of breath before finding a suitable hiding place. Whoever was chasing them would not give up so easily. The knot in Yae's stomach warned her as much.
"Why are we sneaking around in the bushes!" Magma roared. His brows furrowing and his cheeks burning red.
Yae turned on him. Her cheeks were also sharing a shade of red. "Shut the hell up!" Her whisper came out as forcefully as she could manage without yelling. She held her dagger to Magma's throat.
At first, Magma was shocked. He truly didn't think Yae had it in her to kill him. But as he smirked, he no sooner realized that he was right. Yae's threat was an empty one; she'd never kill him. "You're not going to kill me." His voice was lower, but the over-cockiness in his voice knew no bounds.
Yae raised one dark brow. "No, I won't." Her blade pressed against his throat harder. "But I sure as hell will damage your throat bad enough, you won't be able to talk for a week. Now be quiet!"
Magma glared at her. He believed her words.

Gen waved his head to get everyone's attention. "Ahem! The enemy is dear Ukyo. This guy has super hearing."
A light gasp came from Chrome. "Then where we're hiding a bad place!"
Gen grimaced at the sudden rustle when Chrome came to his realization. "Bingo." He said. "This is sure to get us got with all this racket."
"You mean..." Said Yae.
Gen nodded weakly. "Yes, it would appear as though we were led here."
"Shit." Gen did his best to keep his voice low. "Gen, you need to get back to the Kingdom of science. It's the only way to pull of the phone-based strategy as Tsukasa and his Empire."
"Think," said Yae. "We need a plan. Quick!"
"I have an idea." Magma offered to go first. "Let's have Chrome leap out."
Chrome shrugged. "Okay, and then what?"
"When that Ukyo guy comes, I'll just punch him. I'll hit him so hard that it'll kill him."
Yae hated the fact that Magma could probably finish someone off with one blow. She fought off the urge to roll her eyes and give him the biggest scoff. "No, Magma."
"Ah, I see." Chrome said, pausing for a moment. "NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT." From the irritated look on his face, it was clear that Magma's plan was not going to happen.
"What? You're just mad 'cause you'll be the only one to die. You jerk. You only think about yourself!"
Chrome fumed. "You're one to talk!" He accidentally yelled.
"Shh!" Asagiri Gem clamped both their mouths shut with his hands.

Everyone paused. Chrome's and Magma's yelling had disrupted the calmness of their hiding place.
"Wait a minute." Chrome started rummaging through his bag. He pulled out a battery. "Damn. We're supposed to give this extra batter to Taiju and Yuzuriha."
"Spill it, Chrome. Tell us about your plan already." Yae urged him.
Chrome nodded, wasting no more time. "We could use this battery as a smokescreen and noise. Science would be able to do it in an instant."
As they got to work on Chrome's plan, they barely had enough time to walk away before the battery exploded.
"Now!" Chrome took off running, and then Magma, making as much noise as possible. Yae was right behind them. She made sure to keep him in his sights just in case Ukyo decided to attack Chrome without remorse. This way, the two of them made enough noise for Gen to have a chance as escaping.
"If you don't make it back home after this, I'll murder you!" Magma gave it his to let the enemy exactly where they were.

Gen had become an excellent sprinter since waking up in the primitive world. From running away from Tsukasa and Hyoga, and enduring the countless tasks Senku gave him, Gen's stamina saw him back safely to the village.
"Well, dear Senku. Who's the first one I need to seduce?" He had arrived with Senku in the middle of talking over the phone.
"Gen! You made it back!" Suika cheered as she jumped up and down.

Yelling could be heard happening on the other end of the phone.
"Is this a phone? With the world as it? How?" Said the voice over the phone.
Gen mouthed, "Who is that?" at Senku.
"Nikki." Senku mouth back at Gen.
It was now or never. It was time for the young mentalist to shine once again. "I'm Lillian Weinberg!" His imitation of the beautiful Lilly was nearly spot-on.
Taiju's voice could be heard over the mic. "Oh! That's the American Actress. I don't know much about her. Do you, Nikki?"
"Idiot! Of course, I know who she is!"
Senku stepped up to the mic and cleared his throat. "Hello. I'm Lillian's interpreter, Sebastian." Taiju froze. He knew it was Senku, and he badly wanted to tell him how bad of an impression he was doing, but he stayed quiet just as Senku told him. Senku continued. "Hello? I'm calling from the U.S. People of Japan, are you listening?"
"The United States is back up and running?" Taiju blurted. "You hear that, ladies? We're totally saved!"
"Wait just a damn minute," Nikki said. "Lillian was up in space when everyone turned to stone."
Gen spoke confidently. "Yes, but I was petrified the moment I landed back on earth. I was only revived very recently."

Nikki twitched. A moment of silence. And then, "Lillian, I was...I may be tough as leather now, but during my high school days, your songs meant everything to me! I'm willing to do anything for you, Lillian. But if it turns out that someone is pretending to be you...they will know my anger!" Senku and Gen went white in the face.
Oh shit! We found ourselves a mega fan! Senku was almost impressed.
"There's something off about your voice, though." Said Lillian. "Tell me something only she would know: how many CD's did you sell in total?"
Gen looked over at Senku, his eyebrow twitching out of nervousness.
Senku quickly did the math in his head. He heard about Lillian all the time 3700 years ago, from television to the radio, bulletin boards, and girls from school talking about her during lunch. "Over 60 million copies sold. I can't get any more specific than that." Senku told her.
"And I remember celebrating and having a party once we reached the fifty million mark," Gen confirmed, doing his best to convince her as much as possible. "CDs became less of a driving force near the end though, so I can't remember. Should I revive my manager and ask?"
There was a long pause on the other end, and Senku and Gen wondered if their little stunt was pulling off.
"No," Nikki answered. "Just one more question. Get the numbers right, and I'll believe you."
Gen leaned over and whispered to Senku. "This might just work, after all, Senku dear!"
"What are your measurements?" The question threw everyone off guard. How were they supposed to know something so minor? Well, at least to Nikki, it wasn't.
This was Senku's moment to shine again. "88cm! 65cm! 85cm!" Senku thought back to the photo his dad sent him while in space. He was standing next to Lillian, and he used that to compare their sizes.
"Hmfp!" Nikki was not impressed. "Your profile picture always said you were smaller.
Senku was about to lose it, so he handed the mic over to Gen. "Um..." The mentalist thought quickly. "Well, I just told you my exact measurements."
"Yes, well, you'd never tell a fan the truth." Nikki was quick to respond. "Even in this world, Lillian would remain a pro. You'd never toss away that carefully crafted fantasy. WHICH MEANS YOU'RE NOT LILLIAN WEINBERG!"

For the first time, there was silence on Senku's side. They were cornered, and anything they said next would have to be damn good. It was all or nothing now!
"Time for the record." Said Senku as he placed his dad homemade record on the stone slab. "The oil will make it play nice and smooth. Instead of bluffing, I'll bet all this on science!"
Music rang through the other end of the mic. The melodic sound sending shivers down Taiju's, Yuzuriha's, and Nikki's backs. It was Lillian's true voice they were listening to.
"Yes!" Said Nikki. "This is real...this song anyway." She bowed her head, thinking about the past. Suddenly, she said, "Lillian's really gone, then? Lost forever, right?"
"Yeah, Said Senku. "That's right."
"Are you able to bring back more of Lillian's songs?" Nikki asked with tears in her eyes.
"Nope! That's impossible. I'm ten billion percent sure of it. All recordings and media have crumbled to dust. But I can promise you one thing. Come what may, I'll preserve this final song with the power of science!"
Nikki smiled. More tears streaming down her cheeks. "You're one awkward guy. I can tell already. But you wouldn't lie about science, right? So that's what I'll put my faith in."
"Glad to hear it. Also, don't get all mushy on now. If there is going to be any hope of fooling and flipping Tsukasa's army, this record is essential. Even if we end up dying. And you would die to protect this record." Senku chuckled at this fact. "Seems like our interests are aligned, huh?"
"Great!" Yelled Nikki. "You've got yourself deal! Whatever your scheme is, I want on board!"

Yae and Party were scattered. They hid in individual spots among the rocks and thick bushes. The land was dry, so the dust acted as another shield to protect them from the enemy.
"Chrome, your death will not go to waste!" Magma crawled on his belly, inching closer to freedom.
"Shut up! I'm not dead yet!" Chrome spoke in a harsh whisper.
Yae was hiding a few feet away, watching the two bicker back and forth. Chrome was perfectly fine. He had a few scratches and was banged up from running away, but the arrows that surrounded him had surprisingly missed. "Shh!" Yae tried to hush to the two.
Magma laughed. "Still kicking, huh? I was sure we lost you when you went all pale."
"I'm just overwhelmed and spaced out for a second. Some damn pal you are using me as a shield."
A sinister grin spread across Magma's face. "Well, thanks to you, those arrows showed me exactly where Ukyo's hiding!" He bolted forward, not longer crawling on his belly like a snake.
"Get back here, dumb ass!" Yae and Chrome yelled.
Chrome glanced over at Yae, the worry in his eyes matched hers. They were both thinking the same thing: the arrows came from different directions on purpose to keep them from guessing Ukyo's location.
"Damn! Where did he go?" Magma could be heard off in the distance, yelling like an idiot.

The dust and smoke became thicker, making it harder to breathe. This was Ukyo's doing, too. He was using nature to his advantage. If Yae had more than silvery weapons on her, maybe she could have turned Ukyo's smoke plan on him. But alas, her dagger and katana were no match.
"I don't think Ukyo's trying to kill us." Chrome spoke loud enough just for Yae to hear.
Yae turned her head around the corner of the boulder she was hiding behind and looked at each arrow carefully snug into the ground around Chrome. She said nothing, only waited for Chrome to speak his mind again. "I think he wants to capture us unharmed and make us spill what we know." He shoved his hands down his pants and ripped off his underwear. He quickly tied it to a stick and waved it into the air.
"No, Chrome! What are you doing?" Yae placed her hand on the hilt of her katana and waited for the worst.

Within mere seconds Ukyo swooped down and knocked Chrome to the ground. He pointed his arrow at his head. Any sudden movement would result in his death.
And as the smoke started to dissipate, Yae came out of her hiding place. She did a three-sixty and flung her dagger at Ukyo. She had aimed to hit him in a less vital spot but still greatly injure him. Ukyo's swift moves and skills in archery saved him from such injuries. His arrow hitting the tip of Yae's dagger and knocked it out of motion. But Yae predicted as much and jumped forward, Katana gripped tightly in both hands. Ukyo moved off of Chrome and dodged Yae's attack. He pulled back another arrow and pointed it directly between her eyes. Everyone paused.
"You're not going to kill me." Yae stared him down.
"And neither are you." Ukyo threw her words back. "Your threats are empty. Twice now, you've had the opportunity to cut me down, but you didn't." He pointed the arrow at Chrome. "Move an inch, and I'll shoot your friend in the leg. It won't kill him, but he certainly won't ever walk again. Now, get up." He ordered Chrome. Chrome did as he was told and stood next to Ukyo.
"Chrome!" Yae cautioned him.
"It's fine." He assured her. "Don't worry about me."
"But..."
"Do as your friend says," Ukyo told her. Yae sneered at him. She gripped her katana, badly wanting to protect her friend. But all she could do was watch him willingly be captured.

Ukyo knew it was not worth the effort to try and take two captives. Yae would never allow it, but by taking Chrome, someone who was less likely to fight back seemed a better-suited choice. Yae watched the direction they were heading, and as soon as they rounded the corner, she picked up her dagger and went looking for Magma.
She found him smashing rocks, yelling and cursing as he tried to find Ukyo.
"Hey, you." Yae sheathed her katana. Magma spun around quickly, almost hitting Yae in the face. "Whoa! Watch where you're swinging that thing!"
"Oops. Sorry." He looked left and right. "Where's Chrome?"
Yae crossed her arms. "He was taken captive by Ukyo."
Magma stomped his foot. "That dirty son of a bitch."
"Calm down, Magma. All this yelling is going to waste your energy. I need you to do something for me."
"And why should I listen to you, Peep squeak?"
Yae rolled her eyes. "Really? Stop being dumb and think for once in your life."
"Hmmph! Since when did you get such an attitude?"
Since the day I remembered my life 3700 years ago. She thought. "Listen, Magma. You need to go back to the village and tell everyone what has happened. I'm sure Gen has made it back by now, but just in case he hasn't, you need to be there. Can you do that for me, please?"
Magma cocked his head to the side and thought for a moment. "And what about you?"
"I'm going to scout ahead. I need you to tell Senku that. Chrome needs me right now, and I won't abandon him."
Magma nodded, the look in his eyes serious. "Okay. Don't go getting yourself killed now."
"Fat chance in that happening." Yae grinned and waved him off. She turned and headed in the direction where she last saw Ukyo and Chrome. If she hurried, she could easily catch up to them. Now knowing she had a history with Tsukasa, she doubted he would ever hurt her. But a year out here would be enough to change the way a person thought. Her plan was risky, but it was worth taking. If Tsukasa once attempted at killing Senku, who knew what he would do to her? Would he even recognize her? Yae knew how much she had changed physically and mentally. It was her best defense against the strongest primate.